1. Field
This invention relates to noise detection, and more specifically to noise detection in microcircuits.
2. Background
In the design of microcircuits, the power delivery system and any associated power supply noise are key factors. Noise can introduce marginal functional problems with the operation of the microcircuit. These problems may only surface if certain patterns or programs are being processed by the microcircuit. Unfortunately, many times noise may not be visible at the input/output (I/O) pins of the microcircuit. Further, probing these pins to detect noise may affect the actual noise measured at the pins. Moreover, if the microcircuit is installed in a system, it may be extremely difficult to probe.
In some cases, to identify a suspected noise problem, the microcircuit is opened up and the existing die probed using a pico-probe to detect on-die voltage noise. However, on-die differential probing is extremely difficult, productivity is low, and there is no guarantee of getting results.
Therefore, there is a need for detection of on-die voltage noise in microcircuits that allows easy identification and quantification of potential in-system device power droop/noise problems.